Books Lately

Possibly that I own a lot of books. That I own a lot of books I haven't read. That I own a lot of books I haven't read and am really excited to read. So why am I buying more?

Why does any book lover buy more books? Because they are there. Because book blogs are just online enablers. Because buying books can always make a bad day better and a good day great. Because you can never have too many books. Because I am old enough to still get a thrill out of the fact that I can easily purchase online books that I used to comb used book stores for.

I think I just talked myself into buying more books.

The three books in the photo are the only ones I have bought for myself in recent...weeks. Let's go with weeks. I have bought a few books for my kids because the book buying ban does not apply to them. They know I will almost always be willing to buy books they request. The Samuel Pepys biography was slipped into an order of science fiction books for my son. If you can place a book order for your child and not include something for yourself then you are a stronger person than I am. I read Claire Tomalin's biography of Jane Austen recently and someone on Instagram suggested this book by her as well. She said that she didn't know she was interested in Samuel Pepys until she started reading this. I actually tried reading his diaries as a teenager and found them a bit challenging. This book seemed a good way to start with him again.

The Peabody Sisters is a book I picked up off the library sale rack. I had never heard of it but the cover says it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize so that seemed a decent recommendation. It is a biography of three sisters who apparently had a huge influence on the great thinkers of their day, men such as Emerson, Horace Mann, and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The third book is 'Over Here'--The GIs in Wartime Britain by Juliet Gardiner. My fascination with wartime Britain continues. I read a book recently that had a chapter or so on the GIs and their impact on British life. I thought it would be interesting to read a bit more about them. I have read a few other books by Juliet Gardiner and they have been very well done.

6 comments

Amen to all these reasons: "Because they are there. Because book blogs are just online enablers.Because buying books can always make a bad day better and a good day great. Because you can never have too many books. Because I am old enough to still get a thrill out of the fact that I can easily purchase online books that I used to comb used book stores for." The ease of clicking is a definite factor, and the range of bookstores/sellers I can find on-line. And there's the thrill of waiting for books to arrive!

I think one of the benefits of living alone is that no one side-eyes the books arriving - though now that I think about it, the office manager here has commented on the packages I pick up ("More books, huh?").

I still get a bit giddy when I find a book online that I read years ago and thought I would never see again. And then I get giddy again when I get a book in the mail. Mail is usually so boring. Books definitely improve it.

I have my family trained to believe that books are always an acceptable purchase. Though the kids do roll their eyes a bit when too many show up in the mail at once.

My son requested I buy him two more books. It is the perfect excuse for me to slip another book or so into the order. It would be silly not to.